Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-09-03

Owing TO the passing of the clouds whien
constantly obscured the moon-the nbtui anu
uncertain light Of the hand lamps carried by
the crowd. the iaudable desire OF each patrf
OF 10 be in the front, and my own equahy
praiseworthy desire to be in the background
Il cannot 90 very accurately into the de-
tails of this tribunal OF the people, put VIII
come as elose TO the facts as the excitement
and surrounding circumstances VIII permit
In the first place the hitherto dcltufh inoo
Suddenly broke into an angry SEA OF oaths
sna shouts and there was a rushing back-
ward and forward, and here and there tne
report of a pistol, showing that there was
,;Yidad eeu,,t even in the temple OF Judge
Lynch. One group, however, had thrown
rn,,e over the top of young sapling, and
while frawny arms adjusted knot OF II ana
bent it towards the earth, other brawny arms
and violent hands were dragging Bill on bis
Lne..s towards the moose, vainly struggling
and begging for mercy
See here boys suddenly said the leader,
who was either presiding judge or prosecutor
pro tenn, as he blew a flake OF snow OH a,e
barrel of his rifle, aren't We gong a tfhie
too fast There are two ways of doing
thing-and we needn't initiate nm Id Una.
tartikler, Has Bill confessesfi Ii he ham
whar's the Qualification "Whatf shouted
one who was Juggling at the mpromptu gal
lows, @Do you suppose that l am going 70
hold this tree down all nightf
aWhy, Tom see him kill Berry and the con
ductorIr shouted dozen voices in unison
aAnd here's Matt and Nate seed him snoot
tbeDutchman. Why, Long jim, what is the
matter with YOU" cried still another.
Oh. yes. there was plenty Of proof do"
| ,,c,npt and swift were the witnesses and how
| full and responsive their memories. oia
| friends and new ones, companions and enc
mics, stood up and poured out their KNOW
| edge against the hunted and craven creature,
| and unfolded his character as idler, hummer,
| drtnkard, wife beaten, thief and hoinicide' III
was true there was no Mallory Jock to bully
| and hector them in so called cross-examina-
ton; nor Judge Wigglewaggle to trown
| upon the stupid and smile upon the nnpudeilt
| and bold, and no sympathetic fringe OF peo-
pie who love to help the under dog But
probably the one circumstance which tod
most strongly against him in the leaders
| mind was the crouching attitude and the
hesrtrending appeals for mercy
This satisfied even Long jim of the truth
of the charges, and he rested his rife upon the
ground. and, with a gesture, invited the exc
cutioners to perform the peoples idea OF jus
tee, which they did with frenzied shout OF
joy.
But this was night of surprises. Amid
the yelling, struggling and swearing there
arose the cry of Sheriff Sheriff. and the
crowd opened and for few minutes paused,
listened and looked eagerly toward the pike.
Sure enough the gathering sound OF gallop
ing horse could be distinctly heard coming
near and nearer, and in another moment q
white horse bearing the county officer dashes
recklessly through the crowd, which opens K
let him in and then closes behind him
make way, hold on, stand back" cried the
burly rider. waving his revolver and slight
ing close to the prisoner, whom he wreuched
from the grasp of the fellows holding the sap
ling down "IiH shoot the first man tina
moves This is my man. In the name OF CHI
commonwealth | arrest
! He did not finish the sentence, for suddenly
4 there passed above his head formidable piee1
| of wood. and then the sheriff, his slouche'
q hat and pocket gun were knocked IN thFe
e. different directions, and the big, stalwar
officer fell with such force upon the grount
= | that il was several seconds before he turne'
a over. rose upon his knees, and rubbed hi
: head and shoulder and looked around in
: confused way for the supposed thunderbol
which had struck him.
"Georgev, my boy" said one of the laugh
,e ing bystanders as the dazed sheriff brushe
the dirt from his face and felt on the groun
"A for his revolver, don't you know it is a col
> tempt Of court to interrupt it with your circu
=. business Be mum, now, dye hear-and she
p your ewes and ears, or you'll get worse NJ
n that"
n The sheriff. took the hint, for be crawle
"a aside TO the stump of a tree, and crouchin
. behind it, watched syly the sinister proceet
m ings
m But another man had been watching IL
unexpected interruption and saw in 1t Il
n one golden opportunity of his life, and til
n was the prisoner. The man that held hi
~ had been knocked down by the reckless ride
a. and the horse was standing tossing its hes
,;t within two feet of him. Bill saw his chanC
70 and in flash mounted the horse, crouch
m almost fiat on the name, and struck boldly o
N for liberty.
As he plunged beneath the branches, al
nd shot past the trees, running fire of plst
shots followed him, scattering the bark al
, 7 branches but missing the fugitive in the 0
NO scuritv, who kicked, tugged, and lashed t
ri frightened horse into wild leaps and plung'
Id To me this was better than the deus ex IN
he china of the ancient play, that Bill should
ly cape bv his own efforts / wished him 81
lit cess for obvious reasons. What were t
Ill precepts of Coke, the explanations of kei
". and the judgments of Marshall-what we
kE,sr
tv courts and Iibraries-and what even we
til courts of justice, with its jurles and talkil
~, lawyers-if this were to be the tribunal
lat the future. The music of the future had d
nv cords enough which arose from other eau
he than the sbarps and fats arranged in lines
ie- Wagner. but what would become Of on
re- nerves if Justice Lynch were the justice
w, the future! So the flying BIZ had at le'
I'D one, nay, counting the sheriff, two well wi:
to ers.
But it 80 happened that just as the fugitl
he reached the open road, and rose up In his s.
Ole to see if the coast were clear, the clou
vas which bad veiled the moon suddenly fad
vet into mist, and the light shone full on, a
nv tinted with silver the black hair and head
he the culprit, and there came from the for
olv the loud. sharp crash of rifle, which
through the air with an ominous Whit
ect One could sac the horse turn and suddeI
ain stop, the rider throwup his arms in wild
all spair or pain and then fall backward to
J. / ground with tliud that shook the earth q
all made even the followers of Judge LyI
no tremble There was an instantaneous r.
pie, of the mob to where the body was lying
FOR the road, and it was picked up and laid VI
ptu the sidewalk for inspection The inquest
was short as the ftful light of the lanterns shoN
rom that a hole had been made in his head "
owd enough to let out Bills wretched life, and
f half closed eyes looked colder and cru
the than ever
:. he Dead and no mistake. chr was the ca
be inquiry as each constituent of Judge byn
hese court examined and assured himself that
be peoples mandate had been perfectly execu
Try; And then they dispersed as swiftly an
NOR tracklessiy as a flock Of birds at the SOUND
ious a hunters shot They disappeared as if
magic, and left only the sheriff, his no
the Long Jim and couple of bystanders
to colloauy which followed was amusing as
zee. as instructive.
ont Sheriff still rubbing his head and ST.
Dnly tho hmm on the hack of it with his finger